[MarkJ]

What a legend ! I was watching Karel Sabbe's race from 2023 only two days ago. It's madness.
How many times has she raced it ?

[nai]

As ever for me it’s been as much a motivation to run regularly as it is about the event itself.

This. Nothing focusses the mind like a looming deadline.

Always fancied 3 Peaks, but not sure it's worth the trek! Getting lazy, rather do nearby events!

I did it last year, wanted to do it as it's so iconic and the area was where I started hill walking years back.

Not worth the travel I reckon though, no longer a fell race but for a small section on PyG and the slog up Whernside. and that section is really frustrating as you're all in the only trod so can only go at the speed of folk in front. Trying to overtake is about 4x the effort.  Guess it is quite tough on the terrain on Ingleborough and coming off there with 30k in your legs, folk in trail shoes will have been regretting their shoe choice by then.

Poor organisation as well last year at checkpoints with big queues for water due to only have one dispenser on the go.  You can send your own bottles ahead but mine both ended up at the first CP despite having put them in different buckets (that was better than them going to CP2 though, countdown clock's still ticking at 1). 

And YYFY Jasmine. Watch some 800m runner win SPOTY for doing a couple of laps at the Olympics

[slab_happy]

What a legend ! I was watching Karel Sabbe's race from 2023 only two days ago. It's madness.
How many times has she raced it ?

I believe this was her third attempt -- on her first attempt (in 2022) she got a Fun Run, in 2023 she timed out on the fourth loop (after 9 out of 13 pages), and now here we are!

[chriss]

And YYFY Jasmine. Watch some 800m runner win SPOTY for doing a couple of laps at the Olympics
[/quote]

What Jasmine (and any other finisher) of the BM has done is simply incredible, but I think you are being a little disingenuous to Track & Field athletes. They don't get much financial support & it's as, if not more competitive than ultras at the top level.

I don't see anyone calling Bosi shit because he bashes out 6 move boulders instead of spending Day on the Nose.

Anyway rant over, take a bow & a hot bath Jasmine, what an epic effort.

[nik at work]

Was going to post exactly the same.

[shurt]

Gutted for Damian Rice and Jasmin finishing is incredible.

I'm also amazed that Jared Campbell made it round as so many of his recent attempts have been stopped due to a recurring knee problem. 4th time finishing is utterly mind blowing considering when his first was (years back can't remember the date). He also very sportingly offered Jasmin the choice of which ch direction she wanted for last lap but what the fuck is easy about the race...

[edshakey]

I think one thing that really underlines how good Jasmin is is how Courtney Dauwalter fared in 2021 and 2022. Granted, there were no finishes those years, but Jasmin still managed a fun run in 2022. And Courtney is seen as the best female ultrarunner by a long way, so for her to never manage more than a single lap at Barkley really goes to show that Jasmin has done something quite special.

Racing this morning, will be channeling this inspiration!

[T_B]

Her peers are describing it as one of the greatest ultra performances ever. Says it all.

[remus]

Front page of the BBC!

[steveri]

Flipping magic, if you haven’t seen the finish it’s worth a watch, redefining trying hard…
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Y4CNGFuGLdeTny9x/

[slab_happy]

Flipping magic, if you haven’t seen the finish it’s worth a watch, redefining trying hard…
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Y4CNGFuGLdeTny9x/

Her description of her thought process:

https://run247.com/running-news/trail/jasmin-paris-barkley-marathons-2024-dramatic-finish

"And then I guess I thought I’ll either pass out or I’ll finish."

[slab_happy]

First interview!

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/mar/25/jasmin-paris-interview-barkley-marathons-ultramarathon-history

[slab_happy]

Also a really lovely little piece from John Kelly, one of the other 2024 finishers (and a member of the miniscule club of people who have finished more than once):

https://www.instagram.com/p/C45tCzHLxUR/

[T_B]

Really good in-depth interview with Jasmin by DyBo:

https://youtu.be/2SbInFmvwhE?si=2LW2IApUSs7VOO8L

[edshakey]

Russ Cook, the Hardest Geezer, finished his run across Africa

https://news.sky.com/story/he-did-it-hardest-geezer-russ-cook-finishes-gruelling-challenge-to-run-length-of-africa-13109978

Pretty crazy tbf, considering the ups and downs along the way. Raised over £600,000 for charity too

[chriss]

Anyone catch any of the London Marathon?

Cracking results for GB men with a 3rd & 4th. Also ace to see Bekele back with a masters record, he's probably my favourite all time runner.

Jepchirchir also stormed in with a womens WR too!

Any UKB'ers ran? 

[T_B]

I watched the last 30 mins of the men’s elite/15 ish mins of women’s. Tbh I couldn’t get over how blasé the commentators were about Bekele. I mean, he’s not exactly had an easy time of late and lots of people seem to have written him off. Sponsorship by Anta Sports (yeah who?) kind of suggested he was in the twilight of his career. But he took it on and it was flippin awesome to watch. Obvs would have been a fairytale if he’d won but still. 41 years old! Just goes to show how hard the mara is and how to consistently run a solid race is so hard.

On the women’s side I expected Assefa to look in a different league after her 2:11 in Berlin.

[steveri]

Mahamed Mahamed in 4th is crazy impressive working around Ramadan:

“I would train before the sunset, and if I was doing another session I would do it at almost midnight. I would get up at 4am to eat before training. And in the evening then I would eat at 7pm, rest for a bit, and go for a run.”

[chriss]

Mahamed Mahamed in 4th is crazy impressive working around Ramadan:

“I would train before the sunset, and if I was doing another session I would do it at almost midnight. I would get up at 4am to eat before training. And in the evening then I would eat at 7pm, rest for a bit, and go for a run.”

That's pretty incredible 🤲 he'd definitely get a wad point.

I hope Bekele gets picked for the Olympics, would love to see him race Kipchoge in the marathon.

[SA Chris]

Any UKB'ers ran?

Don't think we had any this year. I did consider it, to mark my 55th (did it on the day of my 50th) as my birthday falls on Sunday again, but they made it a week earlier this year, so i was put off, might do it again for my 60th if I've not fallen apart my then.
Doing Balmoral 15 miler on Sunday instead, with richieb of this parish. I think the last time I saw him was when we did Ring of Steall Race!

[lukeyboy]

 I didn't do it though have continued my annual tradition of entering the ballot for next year (unsuccessfully thus far).

I was solo parenting this weekend but managed to catch a bit of it from a park bench while my kids played in the bushes. British 3-4 was great, and seeing if MM could catch Cairess in the closing stages.

[SA Chris]

I think uncommon postcodes might have a fair bit to do with the ballot. My wife, me and the neighbour over the road all got ballot places first time (although being on the day of my 50th birthday may have swung mine). Can't get many applications from AB39...

[steveri]

You could also join a club with no interest in the marathon - if setup right the club has an allocated spot

[lukeyboy]

That's interesting Chris, I wonder if it was just coincidence or it really works like that. Father in law got a ballot place first time by selecting the 'agree to donate your entry fee and get a better chance / free training top' option, though perhaps has a less common postcode too.

It feels like you'd be hard pushed to find a club which has allocated places but no-one interested. Certainly not the case with my local clubs!

I'm in no hurry - I run quite a few long trail races and am not really motivated by a road marathon, but would like to do London just the once. I'll keep entering the ballot and when it eventually happens, that'll be the year and I'll put in a decent training effort.

[edshakey]

The club ballot system has got worse/harder recently, such that small clubs are put in a ballot to see if they even get one spot. I believe it used to be such that every club got at least one place, bigger getting more. So I'd agree, there's not likely to be a club where you'd easily get that place! However, it's still probably better odds than the public ballot - my club had two places available, and it distributes them randomly between interested members, and my chance in that was about twice as good as the public ballot.

I'm in no hurry - I run quite a few long trail races and am not really motivated by a road marathon, but would like to do London just the once. I'll keep entering the ballot and when it eventually happens, that'll be the year and I'll put in a decent training effort.

Yep same, I probably won't do a different road marathon instead but I will enter London valor every year just in case I get lucky!